Academic language paragraph frames
Paragraph Frame for Scaffolding Comparing
_________________ and ____________________ are similar in several ways. They
both______________________________________. They also
_________________________________________________. Furthermore, each
______________________________________________________ Because of these
similarities, we can ________________________________________________________
However, _________________________and ______________________ differ in some
key areas. First, _______________________________________ , whereas
_________________________________________________________. In addition,
______________________________. In contrast, _______________________________ These
differences help us to see ___________________________________________
Paragraph Frames for Scaffolding classifying and categorizing
I
It is helpful to place the ______________________, ______________________, and
_____________________ in the same group. They have important commonalities such as
___________________________ _____________________. Likewise, the
__________________________ and ________________________ belong together because
they ______________________________________. However, the _________
______________________________________________ is distinct because it
________________________________. We need to create a new category for it, such as
_________________________________________
II
We believe that the most important aspect of _______________________ is its
________________________________. It is vital because _____________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________. Another important aspect is
________________________ because it ______________________________
___________________________________. Then again, some minor details, such as
____________________ and _________________________________
are hardly worth mentioning.
Paragraph Frames for scaffolding cause and effect
The cause of ________________________________ is not obvious as we are led to
think. Even though many people think the cause was ________________________ ,I believe
that the main cause was _____________________________________. First, _______________
________________________________________. Second, _____________________
_________________________________________. Therefore, if I am correct, then we must
_______________________________ ____________
The effects of ________________________________________ are significant because
___________________________________________ _______. First, we have the
___________________________________ _________Though some people simply think this is
just a coincidence, I believe it is more. For example, consider
___________________________________ _______________. In addition,
_____________________________________
__________________________________________. Because of these arguments, we should at
least begin to ________________________ __________________________
Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Activities
by Jeff Zwiers. Copyright ©2004 by the International Reading Association. May be copied for classroom use.
Paragraph Frame for Scaffolding Problem Solving
The problem of _________________________________ really boils down to the issue of
_______________________________________. In the past, the common solution was to
_____________________________. However, this is ineffective because
_______________________________. I propose several other options that might work. First,
they could ______________________________________. This would ______________
_________________________________. Second, they could _____________
_________________________________________________. Finally, even though it is costly,
they could __________________________________ ____________________________. This
solution is ideal because it _________
_________________________________________________. These possible solutions are
worth considering and testing if we are to solve this issue in the near future.
Paragraph Frames for scaffolding persuasion
I
Do you want a world with_________________________? This is what will happen if
______________________________________. For years, ________________
__________________________. Unfortunately, they/we have failed to realize that
__________________________________. Therefore, I propose that
___________________________________________. This will _____________________
___________________. Furthermore, it will ____________________________.
Opponents, of course, argue that this solution ____________________
_________________________________. These limitations are real, but greatly exaggerated
because ___________________________________. Some also propose to
________________________________ Yet this is not desirable because
___________________________. Ultimately we must decide what we value. I and many others
believe that we should place a higher value on ______ ______________ than
____________________. For this reason, we should
___________________________________________________
II
The time has arrived for us to ________________________________. Why? Because
_______________________________________. Some say that
____________________________________. They are motivated by ________
_________________________________. They also argue that ____________
_________________________. On the contrary, such solutions only serve to
________________________________. In the long term, our solution will be more effective
because ___________________________________________
Paragraph Frame for Scaffolding Empathizing
_______________(person)_______________________ responded to the __________
by _________________________________________________If I were
_______(person)__________________________, I would have reacted to the situation
differently. I would have _______________________________ because
_________________________________________. In addition, I would have
______________________________________.
I am _______object/animal______________________. I enjoy _____________
____________________________________________. I like to spend time with
_____________________________________. Sometimes I get in trouble when I
_________________________________. I never ________________ _____________ because
_____________________________________. Other ____________objects/animals
______________ envy me because they ______ ________________________________
Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Activities
by Jeff Zwiers. Copyright ©2004 by the International Reading Association. May be copied for classroom use.
If we consider the time and events through which __________________ lived, we can
better understand him/her. I argue that he/she wasn’t as ______________________________ as
many people think. Rather, because of _________________________________________,
he/she became more __________________________________________. This is evidenced
when he/she says, “______________________________________________.”
Paragraph Frame for Scaffolding Synthesizing
In order to gain a proper perspective on the issue of _________________, we must
synthesize information from the following sources: ____________________,
____________________, and ____________________. The first source claims that
________________________ and uses ____________________________ as its evidence. This
is valid, but may not be strong enough to ____________________. The second source,
__________________, reported that ________________________. This implies that
_________________________________________. Finally, the third source offers the most
compelling argument, which is ________________________. The evidence is
___________________________________. Therefore, even though many conflicting views on
this issue exist, a synthesis of these three sources strongly suggests that
______________________________________________. Further research down the road, of
course, may change all this.
Paragraph frames for scaffolding interpreting
I
The author of this article was clearly biased in favor of ______________
________________________________________. S/he tried to influence us to
____________________________ by using persuasive techniques such as
___________________________. S/he conveniently omitted important evidence such as
____________________________________. And even her/his language is used as a tool to
sway us. For example, s/he uses the word “________” instead of “_________.”
II
On the surface, __________ was a _____________story about a _____
_________________________________________________. Yet I believe the author uses the
story to teach readers a deeper lesson about ___________
______________________________. For instance, when the main character,
_______________, proceeded to __________________________________ , this showed
________________________________________. Also, when __________________ said,
“________________,” this implied that ________
__________________________________________. Finally, ____________
_________________________________________________________
III
People are basically ______________________. This aspect of human nature is
reflected in the novel ___________________, by ______________, in which the protagonist
__________________________. At various points during the story, s/he
__________________________. For example, near the beginning, s/he
_______________________. Later s/he says, “_______________________________.” This
shows that ________________.
Not only is this nature evident in the novel, but it is found in life as well. For example,
____________________________________
Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Activities
by Jeff Zwiers. Copyright ©2004 by the International Reading Association. May be copied for classroom use.
Paragraph Frames for Scaffolding Evaluating
I
Before we blindly head down the road of __________________________, we must
evaluate the decision to _________________________. First of all, it will mean that
_________________________________. Research shows that
________________________________________ . Second, the decision meets the criterion of
__________________________________, but not that of _____
________________________________________. Finally, we must consider the ethics of the
issue. Is it right to _____________________________________? Does the
_______________________________________ outweigh the
__________________________________________? Further research and dialog will perhaps
get us closer to the answers.
II
Should we ___________________________________. I believe we should
________________________________ A decision of this magnitude needs to meet several
important criteria for. The first criterion is ________________________________________.
What I propose meets this criterion because
____________________________________________. Second, (my side) meets the criterion of
__________________________ by ________________________________________________.
Finally, even though the opposing side does __________________________________, my
proposed solution has a greater chance of ___________________________.
Paragraph frames for scaffolding academic communication
I. For connecting literature to life
“________________________________,” says _____________. This quotation on page
___ captures the essence of the present-day situation regarding
________________________________________. Though many might downplay its importance,
we must consider _______________________. It is similar to
____________________________________. If _______ ______________________, then
_______________________. Therefore, __________________________________________.
II. For summarizing a chapter
Chapter ___ is about _______________________________. It takes place
__________________________ _______________________ is an important character in this
chapter because ____________________________________ S/he is _______________
because ___________________________________ Another character is
_________________________________ S/he is _____________________ The action starts in
this chapter when ____ After that, __________________ and ______________________ Finally,
______________
Paragraph Frames for Scaffolding Applying
I.
Response to article
I recently read the article _________________________________ by ______________ in
___________________________________. I became deeply concerned about the way in which
_____________________________ _________________________________. I believe that it is
a violation of human rights and I plan to take action. First, rather than simply
___________________ __________________________________, I plan to
_____________________ _______________________________________________________.
This will ensure that ___________________________________________________. Then I plan
to _______________________________________________ because there will be a need to
_____________________________________. Finally, I think that I will
____________________________________________. By taking these steps, we might begin to
solve this problem.
Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Activities
by Jeff Zwiers. Copyright ©2004 by the International Reading Association. May be copied for classroom use.
II. Response to story
In the story __________________________________________, by _________
___________________________________, I was particularly struck by the main character’s
______________________________________________________. It was powerful because I
have had similar experiences. For instance, I _______
_____________________________________________________________. However, I did not
react the same way. Whereas I ________________________ __________________________,
the main character ______________________
________________________________________. I think the character handled it better than I
did because _________________________________________. In the future I plan to
_____________________________________________
Developing Academic Thinking Skills in Grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Activities
by Jeff Zwiers. Copyright ©2004 by the International Reading Association. May be copied for classroom use.